Wheel balancer-dynamic-type



WHEEL BALANCERDYNAMI C TYPE Filed Jan. 14, 1955 H Z! g 20 2 25 Fig.

3mm C/aude C Bennett Patented Oct. 25, 1938 PATENT OFFICE wnaar. asmncaa-omsmc-ms Claude 0. Bennett, South Bend, Ind... allgnor to A. E. Feragen, Inc., Seattle, WIIIL, a corporation of Washington Application January 14, 1885, Serial No. 1,887

liiOiaims.

My invention relates to wheel balancing devices, particularly to such devices which will indicate the presence or absence of unbalance in a wheel which is rotating rapidly. It is sometimes the case that a wheel may be found properly balanced statically and yet will not be balanced dynamically, when rotating, so that such a wheel, on an automobile, will cause difficulties in steering and alignment while the automobile is traveling at any appreciable speed. It is a primary object of my invention to provide a device whereby the presence of such dynamic unbalance in a wheel may be discovered.

My device may also serve to balance such a wheel statically, and will serve to indicate the point where the maximum or minimum weight causing the unbalance is located.

It is a further object to provide such a balancing device in which a wheel support may be 20 rotatably driven at an appreciable speed by power means, and which incorporates suitable indicating means to determine unbalance.

It is a further object to provide in such a wheel balancing device, means for accurately locating parts and a simple and easily adjustable indicating device.

Further objects, and particularly such as relate to the more purely structural details, will be ascertained as this specification progresses.

My invention comprises the novel parts, and the novel combination and arrangement thereof, as shown in the accompanying drawing, described in this specification, and as will be more particularly pointed out by the claims which terminate the same.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown my invention embodied in a form which at present is preferred by me, it being understood that various changes may be made in the form and the ar- 40 rangement of the parts without departing from the scope of my invention, which will be ascertained in the claims.

Figure 1 is an axial sectional view through the device, showing parts in position for operation.

Figure 2 is a plan view oi the indicator portion or my device, and Figure 3 is a transverse section through the same.

The structure of the stand, generally designated by the numeral i, is of little importance 50 insofar as the principle of my invention is concerned. I have shown an upright pedestal i supporting a U-irame II, the upright Iii carrying at its upper and any suitable hearing such as a cupped member I! in which is seated a fulcrum ball i8. Generally supported on this bearing ball (GL II-51) i3 is a wheel support 2 consisting of a platform 20 wbereon a wheel W may rest, an upright post II which is axially disposed and the lower end of which rests upon the ball II, and means such as the cone 2! and nut 23 threaded upon the post to 5 center the wheel W upon the platform Ill.

The upper end of the post 2| may tilt on the ball it, unless restrained. It should be normally perfectly vertical, so that with a properly balanced wheel on the platform, and the platform and wheel rotating, the post will have no tendency to tilt. However, to dispose the wheel precisely upright, and to prevent its tilting when the wheel support is not rotating, suitable means may be provided engaging the upper end of the 1 post. To this end I provide a frame 30 surrounding the upper end of the post and supported from the U-frame ii, and in the four sides of this frame I mount the bolts 3| and 12. There are three of the bolts ll, spaced by 90 around 20 the post, and they would normally be adjusted relative to the frame it so that they hold the post precisely vertical except as it may move towards the bolt 31. If the bolt 32 is brought into contact with the post, then the post will be held against any tilting movement, but it the bolt 32 is withdrawn somewhat the post may tilt in thi: one direction. This tilting will be the result 0- unbalance in a wheel mounted upon the whe support 2 and either rotating at some speed, 0. caused to tilt towards this bolt 32 when the heavy portion of the wheel rests generally beneath this bolt.

Accordingly this tendency to tilt the post may be taken advantage of to operate an indicator 35 of any suitable type, so that as the post tilts, the indicator shows that the post has been displaced from its true vertical position in its normal axis of rotation. While any suitable device, movable by tllting of the post, may be employed, I prefer that this indicator take the form of a plate ll supported'in the frame II by pivots ll between its upper and lower edges, engaging the post, and provided with means to indicate when it tilts. An arm 4, extending transversely from one side of the plate I, carries a weight 43 which causes the edge of the plate at the opposite side of the pivot from the arm (in this instance the lower edge of the plate) to bear against the post 2i. Since it is not desirable that any appreciable pressure be employed, as otherwise slight tilting of the post will not be noticeable, it will usually be found desirable to provide a. second arm 4| extending from the opposite side of the plate Ill and carrying an adjustable weight l5, l6

so-that the weights l8 and II may be nearly balanced one against the other, yet an arm l or M of considerable length is provided. the oscillation of which as the plate I oscillates will serve to indicate any tilting of the post, and consequently serves as an indicator of unbalance in the wheel as it rotates. The plate II is notched, as indicated at It, for passage of the tip of the screw II.

Rotation of the wheel support 2 may be accomplished in any suitable or convenient manner. 'm that end, and by way of example, I have shown a clutch element II formed as a part of the wheel support, and a complemental clutch element I is mounted upon the member I! at the upper end of the upright II. this member I carrying a pulley II driven by a belt II, carried over suitable guide pulleys II, from a motor I mounted upon the base of the stand. Engagement of the clutch elements I and 2! is 'suitably controlled, as for example by an arm I4 pivoted at II and engageable beneath the clutch element I, this arm being movable upwardly and downwardly by a link II connected to the treadle Il. When the clutch is engaged, a sufllciently large bearing surface is alluded to prevent appreciable tilting-on the bearing II, but when the rotation of the wheel has been brought up to the desired speed the clutch elements may be disengaged, leaving the post 2| free to tilt on the bearing II as the wheel continues to rotate.

The device thus will serve as a dynamic balancing device, but as I have indicated, it may also serve as a static balancing device, since even with slow rotation of the wheel support and wheel the post II will tilt if there is unbalance, and the indicator arm I or 44 will still indicate this unbalance. The device is also provided with a contact finger adjustably supported by any suitable arrangement, indicated at W, to contact with the wheel or the tire thereon, and as the wheel is moved past the contact iinger the latter will indicate the presence of wobble in the wheel. To this end the post must be held upright by the screws II and 32, or the clutch element I may be raised into a position where it will support the post substantially upright.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A wheel balancing device comprising a stand. a wheel support, including a vertically disposed post centrally rotatably mounted on said stand to tilt realtive to its axis of rotation, means restraining tilting movement of said post except in one direction, a contact member engageable with the post to be moved when the post tilts due to unbalance in a wheel carried by the support, and indicator means operable by such movement of said contact member.

2. A wheel balancing device comprising a stand, a wheel support, including a vertically disposed post centrally rotatably mounted on said stand to tilt relative to its axis of rotation, means restraining tilting movement of said post except in one direction, a contact member pivoted on an axis transverse with respect to the post and engageable with the post, and a weighted arm pressing said contact member lightly against the post, and serving as an indicator movable when the post tilts due to unbalance in a wheel carried by the support.

3. A wheel balancing device comprising a stand. a wheel support including a vertically disposed post centrally rotatably mounted on said stand to tilt relative to its axis of rotation, means engageable with the upper end of the post and adlustable to dispose the latter precisely vertically and restraining tilting movement of said post except in one direction, a contact member engageable with the post to be moved when the post tilts due to unbalance in a wheel carried by the support, and indicator means operable by such movement of said contact member.

4. A wheel balancing device comprising a stand, a wheel support including a vertically disposed post centrally rotatably mounted on said stand to tilt relative to its normal axis of rotation, means engageable with the tiltable end of the post to dispose the latter precisely vertically and restraining tilting movement except in one direction, a plate pivotally mounted on an axis extending transverseiyof the direction of tilting disposed between its upper and lower edges adjacent the tiltable end of the post, a weight acting upon said plate to cause a lower edge to bear lightly against the post, and means to indicate oscillation of said plate under the influence of tilting of the post, as the wheel support rotates.

5. A wheel balancing device comprising a stand. a wheel support including a vertically disposed post centrally rotatably mounted on said stand to tilt relative to its normal axis of rotation, means engageable with the tiltable end of the post to dispose the latter precisely vertically and restraining tilting movement except in one direction, a plate pivotally mounted on a transverse axis between its upper and lower edges adjacent the tiltable end of the post, a weight acting upon said plate to cause a lower edge to bear lightly against the post, means to indicate oscillation of said plate under the influence of tilting of the post as the wheel support rotates, and power means to rotate said wheel support.

6. A wheel balancing device comprising a stand, a wheel support including a vertically disposed post centrally mounted on said stand to tilt relative to its normal axis of rotation. means engageable with the tiltable end of the post to dispose the latter precisely vertically and restraining tilting movement except in one direction, a plate pivotally mounted on a transverse axis between lts upper and lower edges adjacent the tiltable end of the post, two arms extending laterally from said plate and from respectively opposite sides. weights adjustable along said arms to cause an edge of the plate to bear lightly against the post, said arms serving to indicate oscillation of the plate under the influence of tilting of the post, as the wheel support and post rotates.

'I. A wheel balancing device comprising a stand, a wheel support including an upright axially disposed post centrally rotatably mounted on said stand to tilt relative to its normal axis of rotation, a frame open at one side and surrounding the upper end of said post, a bar removably positioned across the open side of said frame to permit swinging of the post from the frame, contact means supported in said frame and bar to dispose the post precisely vertically and to permit it to tilt in one direction only, and a plate supported in said frame to oscillate about an axis transverse to and at the side towards such direction of tilting and directly engageable with the post whereby its oscillation indicates tilting of the post and thereby unbalance oi the wheel as they rotate.

8. A wheel balancing device comprising a stand, an upright shaft rotatably supported thereon, a wheel support carried by said shaft, means engageable with the upper end of said shaft to control tilting movement thereof eifected by rotation on said wheel support of an unbalaisasoo anced wheel, a plate mounted in said means to pivot about an axis transverse to said shaft and disposed to engage said shaft with an edge thereof, means urging said engaging plate edge to bear lightly against said shaft, and means to indicate oscillation of said plate, said means being efleoted by the varying pressure thereagainst of said tilting shaft.

9. A wheel balancing device comprising a stand, an upright shaft rotatably supported thereon, a wheel support carried by said shaft, rigid members fixed in positions spaced about the upper end of said shaft and engageable thereby to prevent tilting movement of the shaft in all but a single direction eiiected by rotation on said wheel support of an unbalanced wheel, and means disposed at the upper end of said shaft to indicate tilting thereof.

10. A wheel balancing device comprising a stand, an upright shaft rotatably supported thereon, a wheel support carried by said shaft, a fixed member encircling the upper end of said shaft and spaced therefrom, rigid means carried by said member and engageable by the shaft to limit tilting movement thereof effected by rotation on said wheel support of an unbalanced wheel, a plate journaled in said fixed member to swing about an axis transverse to said shaft, and disposed to engage said shaft with an edge there- 01, means urging said engaging plate edge to bear lightly against said shaft, and means to indicate oscillation of said plate eifected by the varying pressure thereagainst of said tilting shaft.

CLAUDE C. BENNE'I'I. 

